04.26.13

(Sonny Weems, linchpin of a 28-54, lottery-bound team, contemplating how much an American President could get for his autograph)

Earlier today, the White House released an extensive list of gifts received by President Barack Obama from foreign governments since 2011. It’s a diverse collection of items including but not limited to South Korean president Lee Myung-Bak’s autobiography, ‘The Uncharted Path’, and, from France’s former President Nicolas Sarkozy, a “tall Plexiglas sculpture, entitled Wrapping Flag Candy USA , depicting an upright Tootsie Roll with an American flag patterned wrapper.” Neither presentation, however, is nearly as questionable as the following, detailed by the Globe & Mail’s Tu Thanh Ha :

Since Mr. Obama is known as a Chicago Bulls fans, Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered him a basketball, signed by the 2010–2011 Toronto Raptors.

The ball was presented in a plastic display case, inside a green leather-bound box with Mr. Harper’s seal on the top.